‘John Wick 3’ Dethrones ‘Avengers: Endgame’ On Box Office

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes put up a good fight, but John Wick put an end to the three-week box office reign of “Avengers: Endgame.”

Propelled by positive reviews, “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” beat expectations with a debut of $57 million from 3,850 North American locations.

With that, it stole the box office crown from “Avengers: Endgame,” Marvel’s latest juggernaut that collected $29.4 million during its fourth weekend of release.

“Parabellum,” the third instalment of the action franchise, opened well above its predecessors 2014’s “John Wick” ($14.4 million) and 2017’s “John Wick: Chapter 2” ($30.4 million). “John Wick 3” also hit a franchise record overseas, bowing with $35 million from 66 international markets for a global start of $92 million.

In “Parabellum,” Keanu Reeves returns as the titular ex-hitman who finds himself on the run from assassins. Stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski helmed the movie, written by series-creator Derek Kolstad. Halle Berry and Laurence Fisburne bring star appeal to the cast.

“John Wick 3” was a much-needed win for Lionsgate. Despite the modest successes of “A Madea Family Funeral and “Five Feet Apart,” the studio suffered a string of disappointments with its big-budget reboot of “Robin Hood” with Taron Egerton, a “Hellboy” remake, and most recently, Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron’s comedy “Long Shot.”

“Avengers: Endgame,” which slid to second place on domestic box office charts, has now earned $771 million in North America.

It officially passed “Avatar” and its $761 million haul to become the second-highest grossing movie at the domestic box office behind only “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” with $937 million. “Avengers: Endgame” hit $2.6 billion in ticket sales worldwide, inching toward “Avatar” and its $2.78 billion global box office record.

“John Wick 3” opened alongside Universal and Amblin’s “A Dog’s Journey” and Warner Bros. and MGM’s “The Sun Is Also a Star.”

Another Warner Bros. title, “Detective Pikachu,” came in third place, adding $24.8 million during its second weekend in theatres. The Pokemon adaptation with Ryan Reynolds has generated $94 million in North America.

Rounding out the top five is United Artist Releasing’s “The Hustle,” pocketing $6 million over the three-day frame. Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway co-star in the comedy, which has made $23 million to date.

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